Ranma - Friend of the Neko
by neko-chama
Summary: The neko-ken is successful but has some interesting side-effects. (this is my first serious attempt at any writing. please R&R and I would love any review that will fill gaps in my writing style or story details.)


Genma opens his training manual to read the instructions on how to teach the neko-ken, allegedly the most powerful martial arts technique in the world to date. The page read as follows:   
  
'To learn the neko-ken, the child must be less than ten years of age, so the child can't resist the cats. Wrap the child in fish and toss in a pit of cats until the he/she is able to tap into the power of the cat spirit.'   
  
What Genma neglected to do is read the second page. It would have mentioned that every person attempting to learn the neko-ken comes away with mental damage for life. But, Genma being Genma, he didn't read that page and proceeded to instruct Ranma to dig a pit, ten feet deep. The six-year-old Ranma really wanted to impress his father, and fulfill his promise, to his mother, to become a man-amongst-men. Ranma didn't know what a man-amongst-men was so he figured that his father knew best on the matter. His father told him that the digging of the pit was strength training so he eagerly took up the task to dig it.   
  
After 3 days of digging, much due to the 'push' Genma gave his son, the pit was completed. Ranma looked at the pit with pride, thinking to himself that he was one step closer to learning the new technique. He proceeded to his next task by going around town to gather thirty fifteen cats.   
  
Genma starved the cats for three days, to get them hungry enough. On the third day, Ranma was wrapped up in fish, and tied to a rope, and tossed into the pit. The cats, upon smelling the fish, approached Ranma with a predatory look that frightened him. Ranma tried to fend off the cats but there were too many of them and was not strong enough either. The cats scratched, and scratched, at Ranma, who was cringing in fear, for the fish. As the fish was eaten up quickly, the smell of the fish was still on him. The cats smelled this and continued to scratch at Ranma.   
  
Above the pit, Genma heard screams of terror as Ranma was being mauled by the cats. Genma,of course, did not know this and thought 'Oh what a worthless son I have. Afraid of a few cats.' When the screams died down, Genma began to worry a little and pulled Ranma up. Ranma was unconscious and Genma decided that he did not learn it yet and needed to be thrown into the pit a few more times. He did it a few more times, with sardines, fish sticks, and numerous other foods cats like. Each time Ranma became more afraid of cats, which Genma considered to be a weakness, until the sixth try. In the pit, Ranma had become increasingly terrified. Unconsciously, he was slowly reaching for the power to get rid of the cats until he felt his mind finally slip into blissful darkness.   
  
Outside, Genma heard a loud 'Nyyaaaaan' and watched in shock as the lid to the pit opened up. A red and black blur leapt into the air and settled onto the ground, on all fours. Genma's first reaction to this was great pride that his son learned the neko-ken but then was a bit concerned that his son was looking at him with a feral look in his eyes. Ranma then proceeded to shred Genma until he was knocked out and then ran away into the nearby forest. Genma came to a few minutes later and started to search for Ranma. Afraid for what his wife would do when she found out Ranma was missing, and the sepukuu conract, he intensified the search. Several hours later, Genma found Ranma playing with an old woman's six-year-old granddaughter, with the old woman sitting not too far away. He promptly stormed up to the boy and took him way, leaving a crying girl behind.   
  
As a week passed, the spirit link to Bastet, the cat god, which was formed when he first entered the neko-ken state, began to intensify. Knowledge of the neko-ken's usage trickled into Ranma's mind and he also underwent some physical improvements because of this link. His vision became much clearer at night, his senses were enhanced dramatically, and his agility became unprecedented. I essence, he became a human cat, complete with urges to preen, meow occasionally, and instilled with the individualism of a cat. At the end of the week, the link was fully established and Ranma had become aware of all but two new aspects of himself.   
  
** THE NEXT DAY **   
  
A six-year-old Ranma was sheepishly following his father along a city street when a cat darted out in front of him. Behind the cat was a large Doberman pincher chasing it. The cat, with no time to think, looked at Ranma and thought he was just a big cat. It then jumped onto Ranma's shoulder and began hissing at the dog. Genma watched Ranma, noting that he was not afraid of the cat, and decided to observe at this point. With instincts borne of a cat, Ranma, with a glint of feral in his eyes, also hissed at the dog. The dog, noticing the size of Ranma and his cat aura, thought he was a huge cat and fled in terror. When Ranma realized what he had just done, he became perplexed and decided to pass it off as the after effects of the neko-ken. With a strange sudden fear of his son, Genma continued to stare at what just happened. Before Genma could ask what just happened, he was even more curious as his son was talking to the cat too.   
  
'Nyan' {Thank you for saving me from that nasty thing.} Ranma's eyes widened as he found he could understand the cat. With the curiosity of a child, he answered back "It was no problem. Only I am not sure how I understand you." 'Nyan nya' {Because you are a cat. How else could you?} Ranma suddenly realized he was looking at a cat without feeling afraid. He had clear memories of being terrified of the cats in the pit. Ranma replied "Why am I not afraid of you? I know I should because I was tossed in a ..." Ranma looked a bit shaken up "pit of cats." The cat suddenly realized what was happening and what happened. It replied {You must have learned the neko-ken. I thought you looked a bit tall for a cat.}   
  
Genma was getting frustrated that his son was not going to stop and stepped into the situation. "Come on boy! We don't have all day. We still have training to do." He swatted the cat off Ranma and dragged him in tow down the street. The cat was just starting to like Ranma but Genma knocked it unconscious when it hit the alley wall. It really disliked Genma. As Ranma was being dragged down the sidewalk, he complained "Why did you have to hurt the cat. I was talking to it." Genma, believing that it was a weakness to have an affinity for animals, replied "Ridicules. No one can talk to animals. You could be spending more time training than thinking you are talking to animals." Ranma was unable to overpower his father as he was dragged off further.   
  
As the years passed, Ranma discovered everything that the neko-ken did to him. He learned this by conversing with other felines along his and his father's travels. He also made many cat friends, which alleviated his loneliness and lack of friends. Also, during the night, he tested the range of his aquired abilities. Everything from slashing trees, to steel girders, to agility, and his enhanced senses. Due to the independence the neko-ken gave Ranma, he lost must of his faith in his father, except his ability to teach him the art. This lack of faith made Ranma seek out an education, be it from anyone he thought would know things or from his, what he now refered to as, 'fellow cat brethren'. (You would be surprised what cats know; mostly history and language though.) But in order to make his father think he was not as smart as he was, he put on a faux façade of semi-stupidity and false loyalty and skill. In reality, he only followed Genma for the training. Then they came to Jusenkyou.   
  
They hopped like rabbits over the bamboo poles over Jusenkyou. Punches and kicks were exchanged until Genma was knocked into the 'spring of drowned panda' and Ranma into the 'spring of drowned girl'. When Ranma surfaced from the spring, he noticed that he felt different. He had more weight on his chest and he felt lighter. This did not disturb him until he saw that he was now a she. Something else scared her even more, where there were none before, lounging about the springs she saw at least one hundred animals and people, with ghostly auras. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Ranma screamed then fainted. (Why Ranma saw this was due to the neko-ken aspect and the increased sensitivity of a female but Ranma will never know why.)   
  
When Ranma woke up, she looked at herself only to find it was not a dream. The guide quickly explained the hot and cold water trigger of the curse and dumped hot water on Ranma. What puzzled him, even more was the fact a second panda was giving his father, still panda, a thorough look over. Remembering Genma's reaction to talking to cats, he quickly decided not to tell him about this and walked outside the guide's house. He saw all the spirits about the pools and asked "Who are you guys and why weren't you here before I fell in a spring?" The girl from the 'spring of drowned girl' was the only one to respond to Ranma's query.   
  
The girl replied "I, " gesturing to the other spirits "and my companions, are the spirits that drowned in these springs. Why you can see us even a mystery to me." Ranma had never really talked to people beyond the masters that trained him, but his cat curiosity won over the shyness. He asked "You mean you are dead?" The spirit just nodded. Ranma muttered "Great! Not only can I speak to cats, I can communicate with spirits. What else could happen?" The sky was suddenly filled with lightning and it started to rain. "I almost forgot about this." Ranma-onna muttered again. The girl only giggled as she looked at her exact twin and said "I don't know why you can speak to cats but I think it's kind of cool. You should be lucky though. You have my form, one of only three springs that are human. Mine is physical and the others are mental." Ranma-onna sighed "I suppose you have a point. I would still rather be me." The girl cheerfully said "Maybe you can get girl lessons from any girl spirits you come across." "Uh Uh! No way!" Ranma-onna countered. "No way I am going to willing become a girl." The spirit giggled again then said "No silly. I mean teach you how to act like one when appropriate." "Oh, well maybe ..." replied Ranma-onna "At least I get to talk to people again, even if they are dead. Ten years without many people to talk to is really boring."   
  
The spirit asked "Mind if I ask what you did for those 10 years?" Ranma-onna nodded and explained his training trip with his father, everything including the neko-ken. 'Why am I spilling my heart to her? Does it have to do with the fact I fell in her spring? Or that I really needed someone to hear?' he thought. (It was the spring anyway). "Anyway I should be getting back to pop now. It was nice talking to you. I feel much better telling someone." Ranma-onna said as he ran off to the guide's house. The girl waved and said "Bye" as Ranma-onna ran off. In the house, Genma was human again and the panda spirit was proding him to see what happens when his Jusenkyou aura was played with. (Ranma can see the aura of Jusenkyou around people too, by the way). Genma kept itching where the panda was poking. Ranma-onna noted this and filed it under 'Things to do to pop for being so stupid'. Genma decided to be an idiot again and say "Why must I have such a girl for a son? Next thing you know is he will wine like one too!" Ranma-onna got flustered at this and splashed his father again. "I'll show you who's a girl! Who wants panda burgers." Genma-panda flinched at his 'sons' anger and ran off into the distance, followed by a disgruntled Ranma-onna.   
  
After chasing her father, Ranma-onna and Genma-panda found themselves at the entrance to a village. Ranma-onna noticed a spirit nearby quickly took off to ask about the village. Upon returning to Genma-panda, Ranma-onna relayed what he found out to him. Genma-panda's eyes widened to this disturbing news. (guess which laws this news refers to) Genma-panda, showing off a new trick he learned from the guide, held up a sign that said The sign flips over. I have a friend back in Japan that I would just love to see again anyway Ranma knew that behind everything that Genma did, there was a hidden agenda. He muttered to himself "Guess I will have to find out some way of knowing what he is up to."   
  
During the week it took to get to Japan, Ranma talked to many spirits that he happened to cross paths with and learned how to become more social, some lessons on how it is to be a girl, how to cook better, and some martial arts and weapons techniques.   
  
A Panda and a girl are spotted fighting each other as they bounded down the street towards the Tendou Dojo.


End file.
